Author: Tina Polito

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” –Dante Alighieri, Inferno I’m eating semi-sweet chocolate mini chips right out of the bag. Bought at my American-owned neighborhood market. Manufactured by Ghirardelli Chocolate, San Leandro, California in the good ol’ USA. Thanks, Ghirardelli. The cacaoContinue Reading “Jobs, Chinese and Otherwise”

Don–the normally calm one–is on a tirade. Once he gets going, I stand back and let him vent. We had just finished eating dinner. We couldn’t have the shrimp sauté Don wanted because Trader Joe’s only sells frozen shrimp from Mexico and Thailand. Instead, I grabbed some TJ’s frozen teriyaki chicken. I stood there inContinue Reading “Oh, Say Can You See…Where Stuff Comes From?”

Nicky, a phone rep at Terrybear Urns & Memorials, sounds worried. “I’d like to help you, but…well, our industry is pretty competitive. We hesitate giving out that specific information. Why do you ask? Where did you get our number?” I reassure her. It’s just little ol’ me, a San Francisco area writer, trying to track down exactlyContinue Reading “Sounds Like Hollywood”

“Fly me to the moon/ Let me sing among the stars/ Let me see what spring is like / on Jupiter and Mars” –Bart Howard, “In Other Words” I’ve wanted to pick up the phone and call my Dad for advice at least 20 times in the last few days. It’s disorienting, realizing he’s gone. LikeContinue Reading “Search Engine”

“If at first you don’t succeed, you’re running about average.” –M.H. Alderson Turns out Dunkin’ Donuts, a Massachusetts-based company, doesn’t have franchises near Michelle’s college apartment or anywhere else in northern California. According to its website, Dunkin’ Donuts is the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world, “serving 52 varieties of donutsContinue Reading “Oops I {Bought Made In China} Again”

Is there news access on the other side? Are the Los Angeles Times and thousands of other newspapers somehow tossed up to the heavens, keeping our loved ones who’ve passed on well informed? Does the Internet–which to an unscientific person like me seems magical and unlimited–stream into the heavens, free and unfettered? If so, Dad’sContinue Reading “Hangover”

Tomorrow I begin my one-year resolution to buy only those products made in the USA. Yikes. I feel as if I’m about to begin a diet. You know how that is? How, the minute you tell yourself “No More Chocolate!” you’re rummaging through your cupboards, your refrigerator, your junk drawer, under sofa cushions. Your mouthContinue Reading “Here’s to You, Dad”